Guatemala security- 'Those who can afford it buy protection'

Guatemala security: ‘Those who can afford it buy protection’

On the bustling Avenue Reforma in the capital of Guatemala, in Central America, he has to keep his wits about him.

He has to be prepared at all times for the very real threat of armed robbery, a kidnapping attempt, or even murder.

With an average of 13 murders per day across the country last year, Guatemala is one of the most dangerous nations in the world, outside of a warzone.

Bedevilled by drug gangs, grinding poverty and an abundance of guns, violent crime rates are sky high.

In the capital, no suburb “including the upscale shopping, tourist and residential areas” are “immune to daytime assaults”, warns the US State Department.

It adds that the situation is a “serious concern”, not helped by “weak law enforcement and judicial systems”, or the country’s “legacy of societal violence” – a reference to the Guatemalan Civil War that ran from 1960 to 1996.

Under such circumstances it is perhaps no surprise that the country’s private security sector is booming.

“The demand is always increasing,” says Alredo Rosenberg, a manager at one such security firm, Sedicop. “Unfortunately this comes from the problem of insecurity that we all experience as Guatemalans.”

Sedicop is one of almost 100 legally registered private security firms protecting citizens and businesses in Guatemala. A similar number of other security businesses work without government approval.

In total, there are estimated to be as many as 150,000 private security guards in the country, compared with a police force of just 30,000. This is in a country with a population of 15.5 million, of which 4.5 million live in and around the capital.

Sedicop and its 500 employees offer a range of services. If a business would like to see a shipment safely delivered, Sedicop can send a patrol car to drive with the van or lorry, for a price of $2 (£1.50) per km.

Want a security guard to watch a business premises? Prices start from $545 a month. Need a bodyguard? That’s from $775 a month.

“People will pay for security,” says Sedicop operations director Hans Castillo. “That’s because it’s a person’s life we are talking about.”

For fans of US heavy metal band Metallica, the group’s 2010 concert in Guatemala City was an incredible night full of crunching guitar riffs and pounding drum solos.

But for Julio Colon, the outdoor gig of 27,000 people simply screamed “security hazard”.

Mr Colon, a manager at private security firm Seguridad Integral, was given overall responsibility for the safety of the event.

He equipped the football stadium where the concert took place with metal detectors, formulated an exit plan, and ensured that security personnel with walkie-talkies were stationed everywhere. Thankfully the event passed without incident.

With people in Guatemala wanting life to go on as normal despite the daily security concerns, concerts and football matches continue to be held in the country. And Seguridad Integral has now provided security at thousands of such events since it was founded in 1990.

“At the time there weren’t any companies that specialised in covering large events,” says Mr Colon.

“Overseeing an event where there is movement of a lot of people in a few hours is very different to just looking after a building.”

While most security firms in Guatemala provide general security services for companies, Seguridad Integral continues to specialise in large events, carving out its own niche. It charges as much as $26,000 per event.

Mr Colon says that demand has steadily grown, and that the firm now has 150 employees.

Such is the continuing demand in Guatemala for private security firms, that it has attracted entrants from overseas.

Ohad Steinhart moved to the country in 1994 to work as a firearms instructor after completing his service in the Israel Defence Forces.

About two years later he opened his own private security firm, Decision Ejecutiva, which offers personalised security packages, mainly to Guatemalan, Mexican and American businesspeople.

At the time his clients’ biggest concern was kidnapping.

However, Mr Steinhart says he needs to continue to adapt to an ever-changing security situation in Guatemala. He adds that in recent years there has been a big rise in the number of extortion cases.

“In this country when you close one hole, another two open,” he says in regard to Guatemalan security issues.

Decision Ejecutiva charges from $1,500 per month for a personal bodyguard, and now employs 300 people.

While Guatemala now has more than 200 private security firms, Mr Steinhart says there is ample work for all of them. And this situation is not likely to change any time soon.

Adriana Beltran, a security expert at US think tank Washington Office On Latin America, says that private security firms are so in demand in Guatemala because people don’t believe that the police or other state institutions can protect them.

“Those who can afford it turn to private security firms for protection,” she says.

Back on Avenue Reforma the security guard is still walking back and forth, and doesn’t stop to talk.

He was hired by a building that has cafes and restaurants at street level, with offices above containing a law firm, travel agent and TV station.

Hector Bernhard, the building’s administrator, says: “We had lots of robberies, so we had to put guards outside… when there are guards people think more carefully [about committing a crime].”

The expulsion of Camilo García fuels resistance against fraud in the USAC

The expulsion of Camilo García fuels resistance against fraud in the USAC

A march of the university community walked through some streets of the historic center of Guatemala City this Tuesday when the 347 years of the founding of the University of San Carlos were commemorated. During it, the resignation of those who make up the CSU was demanded for supporting fraud in the election of rector and for the expulsion of the student Camilo García.

In front of the University Cultural Center building (Old Paraninfo Universitario), scene of important moments in the history of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), groups from different generations of university students gathered to commemorate the 347 years of the founding of the university. USAC.

The youngest resist against fraud in the election to the Rectorate, and the others joined together to organize the mobilization.

However, they were not summoned by the fact of the founding of one of the first universities on the American continent; the banners and slogans, shouted at the top of their voices, referred to the current university authorities as corrupt and fraudulent.

A good part of the university community does not recognize the current Higher University Council (CSU), since in May of last year, when the rector Walter Mazariegos was elected, the process had several irregularities that have been considered a fraud. In response, the national student movement took over the central campus and some regional centers demanding that the election process be repeated.

“We are not here to commemorate the founding, we are here to defend the autonomy that has been trampled and continues to be trampled every day by a CSU that has betrayed the USAC,” repeated the speeches of those who took the microphone to encourage those present. to protest and defend university autonomy.

Read about USAC fraud here

The expulsion of Camilo García

The issue that marked the mobilization was the expulsion of the student representative of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy, Camilo García, who after calling Walter Mazariegos a usurper, was expelled from his representation before the CSU and as a student of the University with the vote of the 22 representatives of the university government.

“We are all Camilo,” “Camilo is not alone,” they shouted in chorus while a student could be heard over the loudspeakers saying that the march was heading towards the Human Rights Office (PDH), where they would deliver a letter with more than two thousand signatures asking Attorney General Alejandro Córdova to investigate the violation of García’s right to education.

Already in front of the PDH facilities, Camilo García appeared and was cheered by the protesters who assured that the expulsion fuels student resistance against the fraud committed by the CSU last March.

In the absence of Córdova, representatives of the PDH received the letter and the signatures, however, García decided to enter in the company of his fellow faculty members to file a complaint against the CSU himself, for violating his right to education. In response, the PDH informed him that they officially initiated an investigation the day the CSU voted for his expulsion.

Read all the information about Camilo’s expulsion here

The march continued towards Pasaje Rubio, where the commemorative plaque is located for Oliverio Castañeda de León, the General Secretary of the Association of University Students (AUE), murdered by State forces in 1978, after giving a speech at the shell. acoustics of the central park a few blocks away.

At the site, the demands of the General Coordinator of Students (CGE) were read, who requested the resignation of the 22 members of the CSU for violating university autonomy and supporting the imposition of Mazariegos as university rector, in addition to demanding the reinstatement of Camilo García as student representative and reverse his expulsion.

They read what they called “Symbolic Execution” naming each of the CSU members and placed piñatas with their photographs, Mazariegos’s one had a pig’s head. In the end, between songs and laughter, they burned some of the piñatas.

García recalled Oliverio Castañeda, who minutes after giving his speech was murdered on the spot. “Today they don’t kill us with bullets, but they expel us and criminalize us,” García said while his companions chanted “Camilo, friend, the people are with you.”

The USAC was founded in 1676 by the royal decree of King Charles II of Spain, who after founding universities in Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic, requested the founding of a university in the Central American region.

The first seven chairs taught were Scholastic Theology, Moral Theology, Canons, Law, Medicine and Languages. The first recorded day of classes is January 7, 1681 with sixty students enrolled, including 7 in theology, 36 in philosophy and the rest of the languages, including Cakchiquel.

The expulsion of Camilo García fuels resistance against fraud in the USAC
The expulsion of Camilo García fuels resistance against fraud in the USAC

 

Getting to know Di WAV

Getting to know Di WAV

Daniela Carpio, known as Di WAV, is a Swiss-Guatemalan singer, songwriter, model, and presenter. She is an alternative music artist who blends pop, dance, and retro sounds to create her own unique style.

She is the daughter of lawyer Karen Fischer and Rodrigo Carpio. At the age of 14, she wrote her first song. At 20, she decided to live in Panama, where she pursued a degree in Social Communication Sciences, graduating in 2007, and continued her musical studies. She started singing professionally in 2008.

In 2006, she made her television hosting debut on the Panamanian equestrian program “Solo Caballos,” broadcast on Mall TV, part of the Medcom network. She worked on the show for two seasons.

In 2008, she returned to Guatemala and continued working independently. In the same year, she worked on the electronic single “Tell Me” with DJ Ronxxx and Santiago Niño. She collaborated on four more singles of the same genre with DJ Ronxxx and other DJs.

In 2011, she became the face of Pepsi in Guatemala and hosted the Pepsi Music Challenge TV alongside Nelson Bustamante, broadcast by Albavisión, breaking audience rating records.

Daniela Carpio returned to television in 2014 on Azteca Guatemala as a host on the programs “Ventaneando Acá” and “Academia Kids.”

In 2015, Carpio migrated to the United States in search of new opportunities. She became a producer and presenter on the Spanish Broadcasting System LaMusica digital platform. Currently, she hosts the shows “Alterlatino” and “#TBT.”

Discography
In 2010, she released her first album, “S.U.P.E.R (Sexy, Urban Pop, Electro, Retro),” featuring singles like “Timbaolize,” “Back To Roots,” “Dont Know you/ No te Conozco,” and “¿Dónde Está?” which gained popularity in Guatemala. The track “S.U.P.E.R.” was chosen by MTV Latin America to be part of the soundtrack for the series Popland.

In 2012, she began working on her new album produced by Juan Luis Lopera, Rudy Bethancourt, and Santiago Carvajal (FAINAL). The first single, “Lejos,” reached number 1 on the country’s most important charts and was selected for the original music of the new MTV Latin America series, Niñas Mal 2. In late 2014, she collaborated with the Colombian group ALKILADOS on the song “Corazón Quebrado.” The music video surpassed 400,000 views on platforms like Youtube and Facebook. In May 2015, she released her new single “La Vida No Es La Misma” and presented her second studio album, “EL MUNDO ME HIZO ASÍ,” on June 22, 2015.

In 2018, after three years of absence, Carpio met Latin Grammy-nominated producer/composer Marthin Chan, with whom she produced her third album. She adopted the artistic name Di WAV and announced the release of her first single “Dominos.”

Watch Di Wav’s new music video titled “333” below.

Interview with Monsieur Periné

Interview with Monsieur Periné.

Interview By Michael Mofu | Life Music TV Latin America

The Colombian band Monsieur Periné is preparing their third album and they say goodbye to their album “Caja de Música”, the success that took them to the Grammy.

The band Monsieur Periné is very grateful to their second album “Caja de Música” for making them one of the Latin American bands of the moment, winning the “Best New Artist” award at the Latin Grammys and receiving the nomination for “Album of the Year.” anus”.
In addition, the work, which Eduardo Cabra produced, Visitante de Calle 13, which was also nominated in the “Best Latin/Alternative Rock Album” category at the Grammys.

The cycle of your second album “Caja de Música” comes to a close. How do you feel after all this? What did you like most about the album?
Santiago Prieto: It has been something very, very incredible what has happened to the history of this band, especially with this second album “Caja de Música”, because this album opened many doors for us, starting, let’s say, with the issue of the Grammy. That in one sense opens media doors, very important job opportunities, but on the other hand it opened the doors to musical exploration, how to change and know that we can reinvent ourselves. That was what this album “Caja de Música” taught us.

It seems like their album “Caja de Música” was released yesterday, however, almost 3 years have passed. Are they from reviewing it, what did they do before? Do they start criticizing records or old songs?
Santiago Prieto: We hardly listen to our records. That is to say; The records are like old photos. To say, when you show your ID or ID card that’s when you come out with a not-so-cool version, it gives me that feeling a bit.

Although this album that we are making, which will be released in a couple of months, will not be like that because we are more comfortable with what we have done.

The process of the album has gone from less to more and let’s say that it has had a cooking time a little slower, a little more calmly and things are coming better. Well, we don’t start criticizing, it’s rather laughing and remembering each song, each recording.

What do you feel is changing or improving between one album and the next?
Santiago Prieto: This is the new album we are making, which is the third. It is already a more mature version of Monsieur Periné, it is an evolution. Let’s say how to reinvent ourselves. All of this has to do with our experiences that we had been accumulating through this career that has involved a lot of traveling outwards, getting to know other worlds and also getting to know each other personally.

That has been the moment of great evolution, where the voices with which we are participating in this project are flourishing with a clearer identity and a more adult essence in a certain way. I think that is reflected in the music that we are about to release.

It is clear that the participation of Visitante de Calle 13 – Eduardo Cabra is very important for this new album that you are about to release. What do you think of his work on the album and the day-to-day life with the band?
Santiago Prieto: Eduardo Cabra Martínez. He is a super important person for the project. A person in charge of harmonizing and balancing the energy of the team, he of course brings a vision of music and production that is based on the human being in the sense of teamwork, of harmonizing and listening to all voices.

Eduardo is in charge of building all the music, all that feeling. He is like a coach, he is a key piece for this work of making records.

Finally, what’s coming in the future? What can we expect from this new album?
Santiago Prieto: Well, in the future there is this new album that will be released at the end of March or April. The idea is to come out with this album and start showing it wherever it takes us with this music. We have every intention that it will open many doors for us or at least that is what we want with this album.

We hope to have another level of a certain musical form. More than all that, we want a more robust show, to be able to play in other places, to be able to reach more people and to be able to take this music to other places and for people to reach it and receive it in a good way.

Exclusive Interview In Guatemala For Diario El Siglo and Diario Al Día.

Lorelei McBroom in Guatemala

Lorelei McBroom in Guatemala

For months, Guatemalans have been eagerly awaiting the Symphonic Tribute to Pink Floyd, in which Lorelei McBroom, original backing vocalist of the British band and the virtuosic Orquesta O la Pop under the direction of Gabriel Gil, will participate. This great concert will be held at La Ermita de la Santa Cruz in the city of Antigua Guatemala at 8:00 p.m., tomorrow, Saturday the 19th, and is a production by the renowned promoter BA Productions.

The participating musicians will be Alfredo Quezada, Álvaro Reyes, Luis Recinos, Laura Castaño, Elda González, Rosario Vásquez, Wálter Flores, Sergio Díaz, Luis Ovalle and Ana Amaya on violins. On the violas Iunuhe by Gandarias, Mynor Alvarado, Ángel Pérez and Lucía Revolorio. On the cellos Kenneth Vásquez, Héctor Pirir and Alejandra Reyes. On double basses Adán Figueroa and Jorge Urrutia. On French horns Ludwig Vásquez and Christian Escobar.

On the trumpets Sergio Tzic and Silver García, on the trumpet Carlos Real, on the tuba Sergio Pacache, on the flutes Gaby Corleto, on the oboe Fielding Roldán, on the English horn Carlos Galdámez, on the clarinets Axel Sánchez and the bassoon Wilver Villacinda . And on percussions Danny Bartolomín, Fernando Díaz and Raúl de León. Lorelei McBroom commented on her Twitter account how excited she is to come to Guatemala and participate in the tribute with a top-level orchestra.

About Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd was a British rock band, considered a cultural icon of the 20th century and one of the most influential bands in the history of music, which gained great popularity thanks to its psychedelic music that evolved into progressive rock over time. . He is known for his philosophical songs, sonic experimentation, innovative album covers, and elaborate live shows. Its sales exceed more than 300 million albums sold worldwide, 97.5 of them in the United States alone.

Pink Floyd began with great success in the London underground scene in the late 1960s. The group

recorded many pink floydalbums during this time that became major hits such as TheDarkSide of the Moon (1973), WishYouWereHere (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979). In November 2014, The Endless River, the band’s latest studio album, was released, largely containing material recorded during TheDivision Bell’s recording sessions between 1993 and 1994.

Christmas concert to benefit Volunteer Firefighters

Christmas concert to benefit Volunteer Firefighters

The direction will be by the Guatemalan artist Mónica Sarmientos

The National Symphony Orchestra, of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, announces the celebration of its first Christmas Concert 2016. This will be held at the Germán Alcántara National Conservatory of Music, on November 17, at 7:30 p.m. to benefit Company 50 of Volunteer Firefighters. Admission will be Q50.

Attendees will be able to delight in the spectacular repertoire that the musicians have prepared for this opportunity. “A Christmas Festival,” by Leroy Anderson; “Son Nochebuena”, by Salvador Iriarte; “Carol of the Bells,” by Mycola Leontovich; “March”, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; “Frosty The Snowman”, by Walter Rollins and Steve Nelson, as well as “Sleigh Ride”, by Leroy Anderson.

The concert will be directed by the outstanding violinist, singer and actress Mónica Sarmientos. She will also perform as a soloist in the pieces “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane; “Rudolph, The Red Nose Reindeer,” by Robert May and Johnny Marks; “Silent Night”, by Franz Gruber, and “The Boy with the Drum”, by an unknown author. This last melody will have a new arrangement by Maestro Sergio Pacaché.

Intecap Fashion Runway 2016

Intecap Fashion Runway 2016

A total of 78 participants appeared on the catwalk

T he Technical Institute of Training and Productivity (INTECAP), through the Technology Workshop of the Clothing and Textiles Industry of the Guatemala 1 Training Center, held the Fashion Runway for the fourth consecutive time. An event in which the exponents, who have been trained at INTECAP, show off the knowledge acquired in the textile industry. The catwalk took place at IRTRA Mundo Petapa in Plaza Mi Barrio, located in zone 12.

Those who attended were able to see more than 70 designs from the fall-winter 2017-2018 collection, which encompass an urban, modern, vintage style that radiates glamour, femininity and elegance.

With this presentation, the capacity and knowledge acquired by the participants in the career of Industrial Design Technician of clothing and dressmaker from the different INTECAP Training Centers were demonstrated.

“It becomes a platform for entrepreneurs in the textile sector to discover the talent that INTECAP generates with the training provided, and allows young people to acquire self-confidence and the certainty that everything they set their minds to can be achieved with effort.” and dedication” mentioned Nora Oliveros, Head of the Textile Workshop, INTECAP.

On November 2 and 3 at the Guatemala 1 Training Center, Ciudad de Plata II, zone 7, free seminars were held for people interested in topics related to the textile sector and the offline Illustration and in-person Illustration contests.

The trends: Ambient Garden, Boho Blues, Stripe-Happy, Girl-Fire, Green Machine, Wild-Ocean, Orenage-Slice, Pink-Violet, Sage-Garden, Surf-Gypsy, Urban-Decay, seek to stand out through the textures feminine beauty, many inspired by military costumes, Art Deco, handicrafts, textiles and fabrics of our Guatemalan culture.

The names of some of the collections presented were: Noche de Antaño, Libre Movimiento, Renacer, Guatemala’s Stripesstyle and Movimiento en Líneas.

In 2005, the Government of the Republic of Korea, through its International Cooperation Agency (KOICa), provided the Government of Guatemala with valuable financial support of $1,000 for the execution of the Clothing and Textiles Technology Workshop.

Somni

The Guatemalan group Somni presents their first single

Dead Star is the name of Somni’s first single and video, a song that will be part of his new album material. The audiovisual was filmed in the facilities of the Railway Museum, directed by Juan Luis and David Arrivillaga.

On October 31, Somni officially presented Dead Star, material that received good reviews from Guatemalans. The production of the video included the collaboration of Daniel and Carlos Álvarez, Kelvin Pineda, Miriam Saraccinni, Pedro Gálvez and Marcela Prera.

Somni is a Guatemalan alternative rock group, it is made up of Juan Luis Arrivillaga -vocals and guitar-, Fernando Sierra -drums-, Pablo Aguilar -guitar, and Víctor Valenzuela -bass-. You can listen to more of them through Spotify and Deezer.